Snapshot 121 – Anthropologically Speaking
by Dragonflys-Girl
Summary: The camera flashed; the moment captured. They knew each other well; they understood each other; they were part of each other. There was no denying that.


Title: Snapshot 121 – Anthropologically Speaking

Author: Dragonfly's Girl aka Ki Ki

Disclaimers: Not mine. Never will be. Just borrowing them out to play and will return them soon as they have finished acting out my dreams and fantasies! Pinky swear!

--

The camera flashed; the moment captured.

They weren't touching – they didn't need to be. They were walking close together, shoulder to shoulder, arm brushing. Yet, it was the look on their face, the glint in their eyes, the smile on their lips, the glow surrounding them that made the statement. Their lips weren't moving, but it was clear that they were carrying a whole conversation from their looks and their eyes and their smiles.

They knew each other well; they understood each other; they were part of each other. There was no denying that.

--

I must be getting forgetful these days. I have completely forgotten about my scheduled meeting with Stella to go through some abnormities in the trace I found under her latest victim's nails. Well, actually, I remembered the meeting; I have just forgotten to check what time it was when I stepped into the shower.

And that wasn't really intentional too, you see. I was out at lunch with a long-time friend and that sweet girl at the restaurant had spilled coffee over me. I hadn't the heart to tell the girl that it was my favourite shirt. That poor thing was already beyond mortified.

I was still rather upset about the shirt, understandably so, I think, and so the minute I walked back into my morgue it was to get the coffee stained shirt off. The shirt was a gift from a friend from college. We were great lab partners and he had the most fascinating ideas for research and experiments. Alas, that shirt is probably ruined now. What a pity.

And in my state of displeasure, I have neglected to consult my watch before I stepped into the shower and thus making me tardy for my rendez-vous with the fair Greek detective.

I can see from where my door isn't quite closed that she is tapping her foot rather impatiently even as I hurry to get dressed. Well, I think it's best that I go apologize for my infractions and –

"Hey, Stella!"

Unexpectedly, Mac enters the morgue and calls out to his partner. Not that he is not known to have stopped by the morgue when he has active cases.

"Hey, something came up?" she turns around to face her partner. "I'm supposed to be meeting with Sid to go over some trace he found."

"Yes, I remember," he nods, moving closer to his partner. He looks around him briefly – indeed an odd thing for the lead CSI to do – then walks right up to Stella with a soft smile. Now that smile is definitely unlike the ones he usually wears at the lab. Something is hinky, indeed, as my daughter would say. "I was thinking of listening in and then maybe we can go grab a coffee or something afterwards."

Ah, so he is down to fetch her, and very likely for personal reasons too. It is rather unexpected.

Under normal circumstances, his invitation to coffee won't give me pause – in fact, it is rather commonplace for Mac and Stella to enjoy each other's company outside of the lab. They _have_ been friends for a long time and have been through much adversities together.

Yet today, his invitation to coffee makes me think. For certain that the words are simple and straight-forward as usual, but his gestures, his tone, his expression all tell a different story. You see, how we humans understand a message is rather complex. Very rarely will all of us understand the same statement in a completely identical manner. Now, just as we are decoding the words spoken, we inject our own personal experience and thoughts into understanding the same statement.

This interaction is indeed intriguing, and it provides an excellent opportunity for me to study the fascinating pair.

No, no, no, I am not stalking them. You see, I have an appreciative mind, and I simply adore watching the two of them in action. These two are fine detectives and scientists. You have to wonder how their minds work, and how wonderfully in tune they are to one another. They are truly a sight to behold.

Just as this particular moment, Stella is looking back at Mac with an expression that can only be described as a cross between amused and nervous. Her smile is bright, but at the same time, her eyes are shifting, scanning the expanse of the room they are in.

Ah, so Stella has sensed that there was more to Mac's statement just then too. Perhaps our Detective Bonasera is decoding the invitation based on some very personal experiences? Some shared with her long-time partner?

"You're buying, right?" Stella finally speaks up, and the teasing tone in her voice is there for all to hear. Her eyes are twinkling too, just as she is starting to shift a little closer to Mac.

He chuckles at her words, such indulgence in his voice, "That a deal breaker? Well, then yes."

Seemingly satisfied, Stella nods, "Well, then it'll be my pleasure."

The two of them look extremely cozy and comfortable in each other's personal space. It's one side of the two senior CSI's that I have not seen before. Pardon me for the cliché, but the air around them seems charged.

And one has to admit, the two of them are a great match to one another. Intellectually, they are excellent scientists can read each other as easily as the back of their hands. For as long as I have known them, they can finish each other's thoughts, even though they may differ in opinion. Physically, too. She, who is a dancer and graceful with her moves and touches, is partnered with he, who was a Marine and now a thoughtful, assured and secure leader. How can there be any partnership more beautiful and matched than theirs? They are simply destined to be.

You see, anthropologically speaking, they make perfect mates to one another: they are physiologically compatible, and they are great friends, and the high frequency of affiliative behaviours they bestow upon each other is certainly very telling.

And the protectiveness. Oh boy, there was this once, early in the time when I first started to work exclusively with them, that I have faced Mac's protectiveness full on. It was a rather awkward moment, you know. Stella and I were simply conversing about dances. I was delighted to learn that the young woman herself is a rather accomplished dancer. Yet, Mac appeared to have formed a rather unfortunate and dare I say faulty impression of our conversation. Perhaps it was my attention to the lady detective that was the root of his displeasure.

We now work very well together, of course. However, at the same time, I have learned to consider my interactions with Stella very carefully. It is not advisable to draw the ire of the Crime Lab boss.

The fascinating and intriguing aspect of their relationship is, in fact, beyond their verbal communication. Rather, it is in how they are completely comfortable with one another. They are together in a way that I have only seen in soul mates and couples joined in holy matrimony for years.

They are both waiting, and perhaps I should make myself known. It is not a pleasant prospect, however, since I am rather certain that the two detectives will not appreciate their private intimate conversation having an audience, however –

"I guess he is held up with something or has completely forgot about our meeting," Stella lets out a sigh, and I relax a little as well – she doesn't sound too upset. It may be my day of fortune, after all.

"You want to give him a call?"

"Neh, I'll write him a note and set up another meeting," she turns to the note pad on my desk. Her curtain of curls cascades down as she bends over the write. She tries to tug them behind her ear, but every few seconds, they keep tumbling back down.

"Here, let me," I think my mouth just about reaches the ground. Mac has reached over gently and held her hair back. "Better?"

"Much," she flashes him a grin, and if my eyes are not playing tricks on me, it looks very much like a blush on the fair detective's face. And here I am thinking that all wonders have ceased. "I'm almost done."

He lets her hair back down once she finishes and stands up tall. I really can't put my fingers on it, can't really explain it, in fact, but they feel different. A good kind of different. Their interaction today just has a different tone to it, a sizzling effect of sort. Maybe we have just been lapse in our observations of our colleagues, or maybe they are just that good at hiding things?

It is indeed unfortunate that I shall not be able to share this information with the rest of my friends, for I am sure I will endure the wrath of two very powerful and very revered CSI's should I do so.

They are getting ready to leave now, side-by-side, walking back towards the elevator. They aren't touching though, not that they need to be to affirm what I already know. They are walking closer together, shoulder to shoulder, their arms brushing. But one can see the connection between the two beyond the physical connectedness.

There is a look on their face, a glint in their eyes. The twin smiles they are both wearing on their lips. The glow that seems to be surrounding them.

They don't even need to talk. A glance here, a raise of shoulder there. They are carrying out a whole conversation with their looks and their eyes and their smiles.

And I sigh. My wife calls it the hopeless romantic inside of me, but I certainly appreciate the pleasant surprise of the unexpected.

--

Haha, so, anyone surprised that today's post is a Snapshot and NOT a Truth chapter? Heehee… I have been working on this actually, because I was stuck on how to make Mac and Stella appear all chummy again on Truth after their fight in Forbidden Fruits and then last week's Help. The writers didn't help! Okay, yes, I've rant enough about that last week… I'll stop now.

This idea came to me out of the blue, but I just think it'll be fun to write… and hey, what do you know? Now one ounce of angst in this chapter :) Oh yea, I'm proud of myself for resisting that angst urge that's forever in my blood stream.

I just wanna say that these Snapshots are not necessarily connected to one another… They're more like, my random thoughts, so, I know the ones I've posted seem to follow something of a continuity, you may get some that won't… so, don't be surprise when you do, eh?

Okay, yes, let's play that guessing game again… come on, this one should be easy, no? I mean… I hope it is… because it's actually hard to find the right tone for him… bleh…

Well, that's it for this one. Until next time!


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